A passenger train derailed on Friday along the Kerman–Zarand railway in southern Iran, injuring 30 people but, remarkably, causing no fatalities, according to local media reports.
Babak Mahmoudi, head of the Red Crescent Society’s Relief and Rescue Organization, said emergency teams were dispatched immediately after the incident. “All passengers were safely evacuated thanks to the swift arrival of railway technical crews and rescue forces,” he told Mehr News Agency, as cited by Tasnim News Agency.
While train derailments are not uncommon in Iran, most do not result in mass casualties. However, the country has suffered several deadly rail accidents in recent years.
In June 2022, a train near the central city of Tabas struck an excavator beside the tracks, killing 21 people and injuring dozens more.
In 2016, two trains collided and burst into flames in northern Iran, claiming 44 lives and wounding many others.
Friday’s derailment highlights persistent safety concerns in Iran’s railway system—though, in this case, swift emergency response helped avert what could have been a far greater tragedy.
